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Case 1:17-cv-02041-RJL Document 147-1 Filed 05/21/21 Page 1 of 47

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT


FOR THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA

MIKHAIL FRIDMAN, PETR AVEN, and


GERMAN KHAN,

Plaintiffs,

v. Civil Action No. 1:17-2041-RJL

BEAN LLC a/k/a FUSION GPS, and GLENN


SIMPSON,

Defendants.

MEMORANDUM OF POINTS AND AUTHORITIES IN SUPPORT OF


PLAINTIFFS’ SECOND MOTION TO COMPEL DEFENDANTS TO PRODUCE
DOCUMENTS IMPROPERLY WITHHELD AS PRIVILEGED
Case 1:17-cv-02041-RJL Document 147-1 Filed 05/21/21 Page 2 of 47

TABLE OF CONTENTS

TABLE OF AUTHORITIES ......................................................................................................... iii

INTRODUCTION ........................................................................................................................... 1

RELEVANT BACKGROUND ....................................................................................................... 3

A. Plaintiffs’ Defamation Claim Arises from Defendants’ Admitted and Self-


Described “Political” “Opposition Research”—Not Legal Work or Work for
Litigation. ................................................................................................................ 3

B. Defendants’ First Privilege Log Provides Only Copied-and-Pasted


Hypergeneric, Boilerplate Privilege Descriptions, Omits Necessary
Information, and Makes Broad and Unsubstantiated Privilege Claims................... 5

C. Defendants’ Second (Revised) Privilege Log Does Not Correct Any


Deficiencies: Defendants Repeat the Same Hypergeneric, Boilerplate
Privilege Descriptions for Virtually All Documents Withheld. .............................. 7

D. The Court Grants Plaintiffs’ Motion to Compel and Orders Defendants to


Produce a Proper Privilege Log with “Additional Detailed Information”
Supporting Their Privilege Claims—But Defendants Defy the Court’s Order
and Produce a Virtually Unchanged Third Privilege Log. ...................................... 9

LEGAL STANDARD ................................................................................................................... 11

ARGUMENT................................................................................................................................. 12

I. Defendants Disregarded the Court’s Order and Chose Not to Produce a Proper
Privilege Log—Despite Having Had Three Chances to Do So—And Have Thus Failed
to Carry Their Burden of Proving Their Privilege Claims. ............................................... 12

II. Substantial Evidence Confirms That the Documents Defendants Are Withholding as
Privileged Are Not Attorney-Client Privileged or Work Product. .................................... 17

A. Substantial Evidence Makes Clear That the Attorney-Client Privilege Is


Inapplicable to the Documents Defendants’ Are Withholding as Privileged. ....... 17

B. Substantial Evidence Makes Clear That the Work-Product Doctrine Is


Inapplicable to the Documents Defendants’ Are Withholding. ............................ 23

III. Even If Defendants Satisfied Their Burden of Establishing That a Privilege Applied,
Defendants Waived That Privilege. ................................................................................... 27

CONCLUSION ............................................................................................................................. 29

APPENDIX A..............................................................................................................................A-1

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APPENDIX B .............................................................................................................................. B-1

APPENDIX C .............................................................................................................................. C-1

APPENDIX D..............................................................................................................................D-1

APPENDIX E .............................................................................................................................. E-1

CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE ...................................................................................................... 31

ii
Case 1:17-cv-02041-RJL Document 147-1 Filed 05/21/21 Page 4 of 47

TABLE OF AUTHORITIES

Page(s)

Cases

Banneker Ventures, LLC v. Graham,


253 F. Supp. 3d 64 (D.D.C. 2017) ................................................................................... 27, 29

Bean LLC v. John Doe Bank,


291 F. Supp. 3d 34 (D.D.C. 2018) ......................................................................................... 19

Bowles v. Nat’l Ass’n of Home Builders,


224 F.R.D. 246 (D.D.C. 2004) ............................................................................................... 29

Chen-Oster v. Goldman, Sachs & Co.,


293 F.R.D. 547 (S.D.N.Y. 2013) ............................................................................................ 25

Chevron Corp. v. Weinberg Grp.,


286 F.R.D. 95 (D.D.C. 2012) ................................................................................................. 13

Citizens for Resp. & Ethics in Wash. v. Gen. Servs. Admin.,


No. 18-cv-2071, 2021 WL 1177797 (D.D.C. Mar. 29, 2021) ................................................ 18

Combs v. Cordish Cos.,


No. 14-cv-227, 2018 WL 1464033 (W.D. Mo. Mar. 23, 2018) ............................................. 19

EEOC v. Lutheran Social Servs.,


186 F.3d 959 (D.C. Cir. 1999) ............................................................................................... 24

Elkins v. Dist. of Columbia,


250 F.R.D. 20 (D.D.C. 2008) ..................................................................................... 24, 27, 29

English v. Wash. Metro. Area Transit Auth.,


323 F.R.D. 1 (D.D.C. 2017) ................................................................................................... 13

Feld v. Fireman’s Fund Ins. Co.,


991 F. Supp. 2d 242 (D.D.C. 2013) ................................................................................. 14, 15

FTC v. TRW, Inc.,


628 F.2d 207 (D.C. Cir. 1980) ................................................................................... 11, 17, 20

Fudali v. Pivotal Corp.,


No. 03-cv-1460, 2010 WL 4910263 (D.D.C. Dec. 2, 2010) .................................................. 23

Gerlich v. Dep’t of Justice,


711 F.3d 161 (D.C. Cir. 2012) ............................................................................................... 26

iii
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In re Apollo Grp., Inc. Sec. Litig.,


251 F.R.D. 12 (D.D.C. 2008),
aff’d, 329 F. App’x 283 (D.C. Cir. 2009) ............................................................................... 16

In re Chevron Corp.,
No. 10-mc-371, 2013 WL 11241413 (D.D.C. Apr. 22, 2013) ............................... 2, 12, 13, 16

In re Grand Jury Proceedings,


No. 11-mc-189, 2001 WL 1167497 (S.D.N.Y. Oct. 3, 2001) ................................................ 25

In re Lindsey,
148 F.3d 1100 (D.C. Cir. 1998) ............................................................................................. 18

In re Sealed Case,
146 F.3d 881 (D.C. Cir. 1998) ............................................................................................... 24

In re Sealed Case,
877 F.2d 976 (D.C. Cir. 1989) ............................................................................................... 27

In re Subpoena Duces Tecum Issued to Commodity Futures Trading Comm’n,


439 F.3d 740 (D.C. Cir. 2006) ............................................................................... 1, 11, 16, 17

In re Veiga,
746 F. Supp. 2d 27 (D.D.C. 2010) ............................................................................. 11, 12, 13

Jud. Watch, Inc. v. U.S. Dep’t of Homeland Sec.,


926 F. Supp. 2d 121 (D.D.C. 2013) ....................................................................................... 18

Koch v. Cox,
489 F.3d 384 (D.C. Cir. 2007) ............................................................................................... 22

Kurtiev v. Shell,
No. 15-cv-1839, 2020 WL 2838523 (D.D.C. June 1, 2020) .................................................. 26

Linde Thomson Langworthy Kohn & Van Dyke, P.C. v. Resol. Tr. Corp.,
5 F.3d 1508 (D.C. Cir. 1993) ................................................................................................. 17

Permian Corp. v. United States,


665 F.2d 1214 (D.C. Cir. 1981) ............................................................................................. 12

Prowess, Inc. v. Raysearch Labs. AB,


No. 11-cv-1357, 2013 WL 509021 (D. Md. Feb. 11, 2013) .................................................. 25

S.E.C. v. Lavin,
111 F.3d 921 (D.C. Cir. 1997) ............................................................................................... 27

Singh v. Dist. of Columbia,


55 F. Supp. 3d 55 (D.D.C. 2014) ........................................................................................... 19

iv
Case 1:17-cv-02041-RJL Document 147-1 Filed 05/21/21 Page 6 of 47

Smith v. Janey,
664 F. Supp. 2d 1 (D.D.C. 2009),
aff’d sub nom. Smith v. Rhee,
No. 09-7100, 2010 WL 1633177 (D.C. Cir. Apr. 6, 2010) .................................................... 19

Tax Analysts v. I.R.S.,


117 F.3d 607 (D.C. Cir. 1997) ......................................................................................... 17, 21

The Navajo Nation v. Peabody Holding Co.,


255 F.R.D. 37 (D.D.C. 2009) ................................................................................................. 29

United States v. All Assets Held at Bank Julius Baer & Co.,
315 F.R.D. 103 (D.D.C. 2016) ............................................................................................... 27

United States v. Deloitte LLP,


610 F.3d 129 (D.C. Cir. 2010) ............................................................................................... 24

United States v. ISS Marine Servs., Inc.,


905 F. Supp. 2d 121 (D.D.C. 2012) ....................................................................................... 11

United States v. Kovel,


296 F.2d 918 (2d Cir. 1961) ................................................................................................... 20

United States v. KPMG LLP,


316 F. Supp. 2d 30 (D.D.C. 2004) ......................................................................................... 13

United States v. Kupau,


781 F.2d 740 (9th Cir. 1986) .................................................................................................. 19

United States v. Legal Servs. for N.Y.C.,


249 F.3d 1077 (D.C. Cir. 2001) ............................................................................................. 11

United States v. Naegele,


468 F. Supp. 2d 165 (D.D.C. 2007) ....................................................................................... 23

Walker v. Ctr. for Food Safety,


667 F. Supp. 2d 133 (D.D.C. 2009) ....................................................................... 2, 12, 13, 16

Willingham v. Ashcroft,
228 F.R.D. 1 (D.D.C. 2005) ................................................................................................... 24

Rules

Fed. R. Civ. P. 26..................................................................................................................... 12, 24

Fed. R. Evid. 801 ....................................................................................................................... 3, 19

Fed. R. Evid. 802 ........................................................................................................................... 19

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INTRODUCTION

Despite having had three opportunities to produce a proper privilege log, Defendants have

chosen not to do so. And Defendants have chosen not to do so even though the Court granted

Plaintiffs’ previous motion to compel and ordered Defendants “to submit to plaintiffs an updated

privilege log with additional detailed information sufficient to allow determination of defendants’

claims of privilege.”1 Left with no other choice, because Defendants continue to withhold nearly

500 critically important documents based on unsubstantiated privilege claims—despite all

evidence demonstrating that those documents are not privileged—Plaintiffs bring this renewed

motion to compel.

This Motion arises from Defendants’ withholding of nearly 500 documents as privileged

(while producing under 750) without satisfying their “burden of demonstrating facts sufficient to

establish [any] privilege’s applicability” to those documents. See, e.g., In re Subpoena Duces

Tecum Issued to Commodity Futures Trading Comm’n, 439 F.3d 740, 750 (D.C. Cir. 2006).

Before the Plaintiffs filed their previous motion to compel, Defendants had already produced two

iterations of their privilege log but did not provide information sufficient to enable Plaintiffs (or the

Court) to assess their privilege claims. Rather, on both logs, Defendants simply copied-and-pasted

the same boilerplate “privilege descriptions” that just parroted the legal elements of privilege for

over 450 of the 497 documents withheld. When Defendants refused to produce a compliant

privilege log, Plaintiffs moved to compel.

On March 30, this Court granted Plaintiffs’ motion and ordered Defendants “to submit to

plaintiffs an updated privilege log with additional detailed information sufficient to allow

1
Order Granting Pls.’ Mot. to Compel re Defs.’ Privilege Log (Mar. 30, 2021). Emphasis added
unless otherwise noted.

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determination of defendants’ claims of privilege.”2 But instead of providing the required detailed

information, Defendants produced a third privilege log with the exact same “privilege

descriptions”—the only substantive change Defendants made to their third privilege log was to

add three columns of information: “Email Subject,” “File Name,” and “Date Created (for

Attachments and Loose Documents).” And although Defendants’ counsel has now taken the

position (in a meet-and-confer) that that information satisfies the Court’s Order and enables

Plaintiffs to assess Defendants’ privilege claims, Defendants’ counsel previously submitted a

Declaration (under penalty of perjury) attesting that “[n]one of the e-mail subject lines or file

names would reasonably assist Plaintiffs in assessing Defendants’ privilege invocations” because

they “contain no substantive information.”3

In short, Defendants have had multiple opportunities (and have already been ordered by

this Court) to produce a proper privilege log and satisfy their “burden of demonstrating facts

sufficient to establish [any] privilege’s applicability” to the documents on that log, but they have

chosen not to do so. And all available evidence demonstrates that the documents Defendants are

withholding are not privileged. Accordingly, the Court should compel Defendants to produce

those documents. See, e.g., Walker v. Ctr. for Food Safety, 667 F. Supp. 2d 133, 138 (D.D.C.

2009) (compelling production of withheld documents when party had multiple opportunities to

produce a sufficient privilege log but failed to do so); In re Chevron Corp., No. 10-mc-371, 2013

WL 11241413, at *3 (D.D.C. Apr. 22, 2013) (same).4

2
Id.
3
Decl. of Thomas A. Clare, P.C. (May 21, 2021) (“Clare Decl.”) ¶ 2 & Ex. A (Decl. of Joshua A.
Levy ¶ 11 (July 28, 2020) (“J. Levy Decl.”)).
4
In the alternative, the Court should order Defendants to produce those documents to the Court
for in camera inspection to confirm that they are not privileged and should then order their
production.

2
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RELEVANT BACKGROUND

A. Plaintiffs’ Defamation Claim Arises from Defendants’ Admitted and Self-


Described “Political” “Opposition Research”—Not Legal Work or Work for
Litigation.

As the Court knows, Plaintiffs’ defamation claim arises from Defendants’ publication of

false statements accusing Plaintiffs of, among other things, bribery, extortion, and interference in

the 2016 U.S. Presidential Election, in an “intelligence” memorandum titled “Company

Intelligence Report 2016/112” (“CIR 112”), which Defendants commissioned from Christopher

Steele and his firm, Orbis Business Intelligence.5 (CIR 112, along with similar reports prepared

by and for Defendants, have become collectively known as the “Steele Dossier.”)6

As relevant here, Defendants have repeatedly admitted that the Dossier was the product of

“political work”7—specifically, “political” “opposition research”8—and Defendants have called

those reports “the most famous work of opposition research in American politics.”9

Defendants were initially hired in September 2015 to perform that “political” “opposition

research” on then-presidential candidate Donald Trump by the Washington Free Beacon,

“a conservative online publication backed by... Paul Singer,” who was “no fan of Trump.”10 After

Trump became the frontrunner for the Republican presidential nomination, Defendants disengaged

with the Free Beacon and, because “[i]t seemed obvious that demand for information on Trump

would soon shift to the Democrats,” Defendants reached out to Marc Elias, a lawyer at Perkins

5
See, e.g., Am. Compl. ¶¶ 1-10, 13, 31 (Dec. 12, 2017) [Dkt. 17].
6
See id. ¶ 1.
7
See Clare Decl. ¶ 3 & Ex. B (Glenn Simpson & Peter Fritsch, Crime in Progress 54, 56-57 (2019)
(excerpts)). Because Defendant Simpson (who is a principal of Defendant Bean) wrote Crime in
Progress, Defendants’ numerous admissions in the book constitute non-hearsay party admissions.
See Fed. R. Evid. 801(d).
8
Clare Decl. Ex. B (Crime in Progress) at 54, 56-57.
9
Id. at 269.
10
Id. at 18, 54.

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Coie who represented the Democratic National Committee (DNC) and Hillary for America

Campaign Committee (HFACC).11 Defendant Simpson first met with Mr. Elias on April 20, 2016,

and a few weeks later, Perkins Coie engaged Defendants to perform “deep research on Trump.”12

Critical for purposes of this Motion, Defendants have repeatedly admitted that their work

for Perkins Coie was “political,” not legal. To begin, Defendants were never clients of Perkins

Coie; rather, the DNC and HFACC were Perkins Coie’s clients.13 Moreover, Perkins Coie did

not engage Defendants to perform legal or litigation-focused work; rather, Defendants have

admitted (and publicly boasted) that Perkins Coie engaged Defendants in a “political context” to

perform “political work.”14 In fact, Defendants have admitted that they themselves (not Perkins

Coie) “were the architects of the[ir] research and we [Defendants] made most of the decisions

about what to look for and where to look.”15 In Defendants’ own words, the purpose of their work

in political campaigns is “threefold: to expose an opponent’s vulnerabilities, provide source

material for the media, and feed attack ads.”16 Here, Defendants accomplished that purpose by

performing “deep research on Trump” and commissioning and publishing CIR 112 and the rest of

11
Id. at 54-56.
12
Id. at 54-57, 59. Defendants admit that as of April 20, 2016 they had not been engaged to
perform work for Perkins Coie, writing in their tell-all book that their April 20, 2016 “meeting
with Marc Elias [] occurred before [Defendants] were hired” by Perkins Coie. Id. at 284.
13
Id. at 79.
14
See, e.g., id. at 56 (discussing the work Defendants would perform for Perkins Coie and
explaining that “[p]olitical work like this can be perilous”); id. at 70 (discussing “the
political context of [Defendants’] engagement” by Perkins Coie); see also id. at 56 (describing the
work that Perkins Coie engaged Defendants to perform, and explaining: “[Elias] had heard of the
research Fusion had done on Mitt Romney and Bain Capital during the 2012 campaign and said
he needed that kind of deep research on Trump.”).
15
Clare Decl. ¶ 4 & Ex. C (Interview of Glenn Simpson by the House Permanent Select Committee
on Intelligence, at 22 (Nov. 14, 2017)).
16
Id. at 31.

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the Steele Dossier, which Defendants boast is “perhaps the most famous work of opposition

research in American politics.”17

B. Defendants’ First Privilege Log Provides Only Copied-and-Pasted


Hypergeneric, Boilerplate Privilege Descriptions, Omits Necessary
Information, and Makes Broad and Unsubstantiated Privilege Claims.

On October 11, 2019, Plaintiffs served requests for production on Defendants seeking

documents relating to CIR 112 and issues at the heart of this case.18 Defendants responded by

broadly claiming privilege in response to virtually every request19 and withholding nearly 500

documents as privileged, which they listed on their first privilege log.20

As Plaintiffs’ counsel explained to Defendants’ counsel in multiple letters, Defendants’

first privilege log did not provide sufficient information to enable Plaintiffs to assess Defendants’

privilege claims, much less provide facts sufficient to carry Defendants’ burden of demonstrating

that the documents they are withholding are privileged.21 Defendants, among other things:

• Repeated the Same Hypergeneric Privilege Descriptions For Nearly All Documents.
Defendants repeated the same two boilerplate “privilege descriptions” that just parroted the
legal elements of privilege for over 450 of the 497 documents withheld:

“Confidential research [or “communication regarding research”] prepared


at the direction of Perkins Coie and in anticipation of litigation, and for the
purpose of providing legal advice” or

“Confidential communication in anticipation of litigation and for the


purpose of obtaining legal advice.”22

• Claimed Privilege Over Non-Attorney Communications. Defendants claimed privilege


over more than 425 communications (the overwhelming majority of their withheld
documents) that were solely between non-attorneys—without any factual explanation for

17
Id. at 57, 269.
18
Clare Decl. ¶ 5 & Ex. D (Pls.’ First RFPs (Oct. 11, 2019)).
19
Clare Decl. ¶ 6 & Ex. E (Defs.’ Resps. & Objs. to Pls.’ First RFPs (Nov. 11, 2019)).
20
Clare Decl. ¶ 7 & Ex. F (Defs.’ [First] Privilege Log (May 18, 2020)).
21
Clare Decl. ¶¶ 8-10 & Ex. G (Letter from A. Lewis to J. Levy (May 28, 2021)), Ex. H (Letter
from A. Lewis to J. Levy (June 25, 2021)), Ex. I (Letter from A. Lewis to J. Levy (July 22, 2021)).
22
See, e.g., Clare Decl. Ex. F (Defs.’ [First] Privilege Log) at PRIV0000014-421, PRIV0000432-
474.

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how they are privileged and which are facially unprivileged given the political nature of
the work they performed.23

• Claimed Privilege Over Communications with Third Parties. Defendants claimed


privilege over communications with third parties—without any factual explanation for how
they are privileged and which are facially unprivileged given the political nature of the
work they performed.24

• Did Not Differentiate Privileges Claimed. Defendants generically claimed both


attorney-client privilege and work-product protection without differentiation for 492 of 497
documents withheld.

• Claimed Facially Inapplicable Privileges. Defendants claimed privilege over documents


based on an engagement with Perkins Coie that did not exist when the documents were
created.25

• Omitted Various Necessary Information. Defendants identified 30 documents as simply


“loose document,”26 claimed work-product protection without identifying even generally
what litigation was anticipated, and omitted such basic information as the types of
documents withheld (except emails), the number of pages of documents withheld, email
subjects, file names, dates for non-emails, and descriptions of the subject-matters of the
documents withheld.

In light of these deficiencies, Plaintiffs’ counsel demanded that Defendants produce a

revised, compliant privilege log with sufficient information to enable Plaintiffs to meaningfully

assess Defendants’ privilege claims. After initially refusing, Defendants agreed to provide a

“supplementary privilege log containing additional non-privileged information regarding the

documents listed,” but maintained their broad privilege claims.27

23
See, e.g., id. at PRIV0000010, PRIV0000014, PRIV0000156, PRIV0000159, PRIV0000203,
PRIV0000206-209, PRIV0000295, PRIV0000298, PRIV0000300.
24
See, e.g., id. at PRIV0000110-111.
25
See, e.g., id. at PRIV0000006-19 (dated before Defendants’ meeting with Marc Elias on
April 20, 2016, which “occurred before [Defendants] were hired” by Perkins Coie,” Clare Decl.
Ex. B at 284 (Crime in Progress)).
26
See, e.g., id. at PRIV0000030-31, PRIV0000044-45.
27
Clare Decl. ¶ 11 & Ex. J (Letter from J. Levy to A. Lewis (June 10, 2020)).

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C. Defendants’ Second (Revised) Privilege Log Does Not Correct Any


Deficiencies: Defendants Repeat the Same Hypergeneric, Boilerplate Privilege
Descriptions for Virtually All Documents Withheld.

On July 28, 2020, Defendants produced a second (revised) privilege log28—but chose not

to correct any of the clear deficiencies in their first privilege log. Defendants made no substantive

changes to their privilege log; Defendants made only a minor formatting change and de-

designated (and produced) a few invoices and their cover emails.29 Just like with their first

privilege log, Defendants:

• Repeated the same hypergeneric privilege descriptions that just recited the elements of
privilege claims for over 450 documents.30

• Claimed privilege over non-attorney communications—without any explanation for how


they are privileged and which are facially unprivileged, as described above.31

• Claimed privilege over communications with third parties—without any explanation for
how they are privileged and which are facially unprivileged, as described above.32

• Did not differentiate privileges claimed, claiming both attorney-client privilege and work-
product protection without differentiation for all but 5 documents withheld.

• Claimed facially inapplicable privileges, including by claiming privilege over documents


based on an engagement with Perkins Coie that did not exist when the documents were
created.33

• Continued to omit necessary information, including claiming work-product protection


without identifying even generally what litigation was anticipated and omitting such basic
information as the types of documents withheld (except emails), the number of pages in
documents withheld, email subjects, file names, dates for non-emails, and descriptions of
the subject-matters of the documents withheld.

28
Clare Decl. ¶ 12 & Ex. K (Defs.’ [Second] (Revised) Privilege Log (July 28, 2020)).
29
See id. at PRIV0000098, PRIV0000109-112.
30
See, e.g., id. at PRIV0000014-421, PRIV0000432-474.
31
See, e.g., id. at PRIV0000010, PRIV0000014, PRIV0000156, PRIV0000159, PRIV0000203,
PRIV0000206, PRIV0000207, PRIV0000208, PRIV0000209, PRIV0000295, PRIV0000298,
PRIV0000300.
32
See, e.g., id. at PRIV0000110-111.
33
See, e.g., id. at PRIV0000006-19 (dated before Defendants’ meeting with Marc Elias on
April 20, 2016, which “occurred before [Defendants] were hired” by Perkins Coie,” Clare Decl.
Ex. B at 284 (Crime in Progress)).

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Along with their substantively unchanged second privilege log, Defendants produced a

Declaration from Joshua Levy (their trial counsel in this case) that repeated Defendants’ broad

privilege claims and asserted generally that all work Defendants performed was performed to assist

legal work.34 But Mr. Levy’s Declaration did not specifically address any particular documents

on Defendants’ privilege log or even attempt to explain how any particular documents that

Defendants are withholding as privileged are actually privileged.35

In light of the continuing deficiency of Defendants’ second privilege log, Plaintiffs’

counsel again asked Defendants to revise their privilege log and to provide sufficient

information—like the subject-matters of the documents withheld—that would enable Plaintiffs

(and the Court) to meaningfully assess Defendants’ privilege claims, but Defendants refused.36 In

fact, Defendants even refused to provide such basic—and required—information as email subject

lines, file names, and file creation dates because, according to Defendants’ counsel:

None of the e-mail subject lines or file names would reasonably assist Plaintiffs
in assessing Defendants’ privilege invocations. Rather, the subject lines and file
names are generally generic and/or vague. ... And other subject lines and file
names contain no substantive information as to the subject of the underlying
communication (e.g., “fyi” or “here”).37

Left with no other option, Plaintiffs moved to compel Defendants to produce the documents

they were withholding because they failed to carry their burden of demonstrating that they were

privileged, or to provide a third privilege log that provides all necessary (and required) information

to meaningfully assess Defendants’ privilege claims.38 In that Motion, Plaintiffs specifically

identified the numerous above-described deficiencies with Defendants’ second privilege log.39

34
J. Levy Decl. (Ex. A to the Clare Decl.).
35
See id.
36
Clare Decl. ¶ 14 & Ex. L (Email from A. Lewis to J. Levy (Aug. 10, 2020)).
37
J. Levy Decl. ¶ 11 (Ex. A to the Clare. Decl.).
38
Pls.’ Mot. to Compel re Defs.’ Privilege Log (Aug. 14, 2020) [Dkt. 95].
39
See generally id.

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D. The Court Grants Plaintiffs’ Motion to Compel and Orders Defendants to


Produce a Proper Privilege Log with “Additional Detailed Information”
Supporting Their Privilege Claims—But Defendants Defy the Court’s Order
and Produce a Virtually Unchanged Third Privilege Log.

On March 30, 2021, the Court granted Plaintiffs’ Motion to Compel and ordered

Defendants to “submit to plaintiffs an updated privilege log with additional detailed information

sufficient to allow determination of defendants’ claims of privilege.”40 The Court further ordered

the parties to meet and confer regarding any remaining disputes following Defendants’ production

of their updated privilege log and invited Plaintiffs to file a renewed motion to compel if

Defendants failed to produce a sufficient privilege log.41

Defendants disregarded the Court’s Order. Despite having a third opportunity to produce

a sufficient privilege log, Defendants produced a third privilege log that contained nearly all of

the same deficiencies as its previous two logs.42 Despite the Court’s Order to provide “additional

detailed information” sufficient to enable Plaintiffs (and the Court) to meaningfully assess

Defendants’ privilege claims, Defendants did not change the “privilege descriptions” of the

documents they are withholding. Rather, the only substantive change Defendants made to their

third privilege log was to add three columns of information: “Email Subject,” “File Name,” and

“Date Created (for Attachments and Loose Documents).” Defendants once again repeated the

same hypergeneric, boilerplate “privilege descriptions” that just recited the legal elements of

privilege claims for nearly every document withheld, and Defendants continued to withhold

facially unprivileged documents without providing any information to justify their claims of

privilege over them.

40
Order Granting Pls.’ Mot. to Compel re Defs.’ Privilege Log (Mar. 30, 2021).
41
Id.
42
Clare Decl. ¶ 14 & Ex. M (Defs.’ [Third] Revised Privilege Log (Apr. 29, 2021)).

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Thus, Plaintiffs’ counsel wrote to Defendants’ counsel to again ask Defendants to produce

a compliant privilege log.43 But Defendants’ counsel refused, taking the position that by providing

“Email Subject,” “File Name,” and “Date Created” information—but not revising their privilege

descriptions—they complied with the Court’s Order and provided sufficient “detailed

information” to enable Plaintiffs (and the Court) to assess their privilege claims:44

But Defendants’ counsel knew his assertion was false, because in his Declaration in support

of Defendants’ second privilege log, he stated (under penalty of perjury) that merely providing

“Email Subject,” “File Name,” and “Date Created” information would not enable Plaintiffs to

assess Defendants’ privilege claims:45

43
Clare Decl. ¶ 15 & Ex. N (Letter from T. Clare & J. Oliveri to J. Levy (May 3, 2021)).
44
Clare Decl. ¶ 16 & Ex. O (Letter from J. Levy to T. Clare & J. Oliveri (May 11, 2021)).
45
J. Levy Decl. ¶ 11 (Ex. A to the Clare. Decl.).

10
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During (and after) a meet-and-confer on this issue, Defendants’ counsel would not (and/or

could not) explain how providing “Email Subject,” “File Name,” and “Date Created” information

(without any alteration of their “Privilege Descriptions”) enabled Plaintiffs to assess Defendants’

claims of privilege over specific documents more meaningfully than based on Defendants’

previous privilege log that the Court found insufficient—because it does not.46 But Defendants’

counsel refused to provide any additional information to support Defendants’ privilege claims.

Accordingly, Plaintiffs are again left with no choice but to file this Motion to Compel.

LEGAL STANDARD

“It is well established that,” as the proponents of privilege claims, Defendants “bear[] the

burden of demonstrating facts sufficient to establish [any] privilege’s applicability.” In re

Subpoena Duces Tecum Issued to Commodity Futures Trading Comm’n (“In re CFTC Subpoena”),

439 F.3d 740, 750 (D.C. Cir. 2006). To satisfy that burden, Defendants “must” offer more than

just “conclusory statements,” “generalized assertions,” and “averments of [their] counsel.” United

States v. ISS Marine Servs., Inc., 905 F. Supp. 2d 121, 127 (D.D.C. 2012). “Blanket or categorical

claims of privilege” are insufficient; “the law ‘requires a showing that the privilege applies to

each communication for which it is asserted,’” and Defendants “must establish the claimed

privilege with ‘reasonably certainty.’” In re Veiga, 746 F. Supp. 2d 27, 33 (D.D.C. 2010) (quoting

United States v. Legal Servs. for N.Y.C., 249 F.3d 1077, 1082 (D.C. Cir. 2001), and In re CFTC

Subpoena, 439 F.3d at 750-51)); FTC v. TRW, Inc., 628 F.2d 207, 213 (D.C. Cir. 1980) (“Where,

as here, we have not been provided with sufficient facts to state with reasonable certainty that the

privilege applies, [the proponent’s] burden is not met.”). Finally, “[b]ecause it inhibits the truth-

46
Clare Decl. ¶ 17 & Ex. P (Email Chain between J. Levy and J. Oliveri (May 13-14, 2021)).

11
Case 1:17-cv-02041-RJL Document 147-1 Filed 05/21/21 Page 18 of 47

finding process,” the attorney-client privilege must be “‘narrowly construed.’” In re Veiga, 746

F. Supp. 2d at 34 (quoting Permian Corp. v. United States, 665 F.2d 1214, 1221 (D.C. Cir. 1981)).

ARGUMENT

I. Defendants Disregarded the Court’s Order and Chose Not to Produce a Proper
Privilege Log—Despite Having Had Three Chances to Do So—And Have Thus Failed
to Carry Their Burden of Proving Their Privilege Claims.

Despite now having had three opportunities to produce a sufficient privilege log,

Defendants have chosen not to do so. And Defendants have chosen not to do so despite the Court

ordering them “to submit to plaintiffs an updated privilege log with additional detailed information

sufficient to allow determination of defendants’ claims of privilege.”47 As such, Defendants have

failed to meet their burden of demonstrating that the documents they are withholding are

privileged, and the Court should compel them to produce those documents. E.g., Walker v. Ctr.

for Food Safety, 667 F. Supp. 2d 133, 138 (D.D.C. 2009) (compelling production when party had

multiple opportunities to produce a sufficient privilege log but failed to do so); In re Chevron

Corp., No. 10-mc-371, 2013 WL 11241413, at *3 (D.D.C. Apr. 22, 2013) (same).

The law governing the information that must be included in a privilege log is well-settled.

A party withholding documents based on claims of attorney-client privilege or work-product must

“describe the nature of the documents, communications, or tangible things not produced or

disclosed—and do so in a manner that, without revealing information itself privileged or protected,

will enable other parties to assess the claim.” Fed. R. Civ. P. 26(b)(5)(A)(ii). Thus, a privilege

log must, for each document withheld, “state[] the basis upon which the privilege is claimed,

the subject matter, number of pages, author, date created, and the identity of all persons to whom

the original or any copies of the document were shown or provided,” English v. Wash. Metro. Area

47
Order Granting Pls.’ Mot. to Compel re Defs.’ Privilege Log (Mar. 30, 2021).

12
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Transit Auth., 323 F.R.D. 1, 9 n.2 (D.D.C. 2017), and must provide all “facts necessary to find the

attorney-client privilege or work product doctrine protect the sought-after documents,” In re Veiga,

746 F. Supp. 2d at 40.

“[T]he intendment to the Rule is clear: the opposing party should be able, from the entry

in the log itself, to assess whether the claim of privilege is valid.” Chevron Corp. v. Weinberg

Grp., 286 F.R.D. 95, 98 (D.D.C. 2012). Thus, a privilege log must contain “individualized and

detailed” privilege descriptions for all documents withheld. United States v. KPMG LLP, 316 F.

Supp. 2d 30, 40 (D.D.C. 2004). Descriptions that simply “recit[e] [] the applicable legal standard”

are insufficient. In re Chevron Corp., 2013 WL 11241413, at *3. If a party fails to produce an

adequate privilege log despite having multiple opportunities to do so, it fails to carry its burden of

proving its privilege claims and must produce the documents it is withholding. E.g., Walker, 667

F. Supp. 2d at 138 (collecting cases); In re Chevron Corp., 2013 WL 11241413, at *3.

Here, Defendants have had three opportunities to produce a proper privilege log—and were

even ordered by the Court to amend their second (revised) privilege log and produce a third

privilege log with “additional detailed information” to enable Plaintiffs to meaningfully assess

their privilege claims—but Defendants chose not to do so. Even a cursory look at Defendants’

third privilege log makes that clear. Defendants expressly ignored the Court’s admonition to

provide “detailed information” to support their privilege claims and just repeated the same

hypergeneric privilege descriptions that simply “recit[e] [] the applicable legal standard” for

almost every document on their third privilege log:

“Confidential research [or “communication regarding research”] prepared at the


direction of Perkins Coie and in anticipation of litigation, and for the purpose of
providing legal advice” or

13
Case 1:17-cv-02041-RJL Document 147-1 Filed 05/21/21 Page 20 of 47

“Confidential communication [or “communication with counsel”] in anticipation


of litigation and for the purpose of obtaining legal advice.”48

A complete list of the documents Defendants are withholding based on these same descriptions is

provided in Appendix A and Appendix B to this Motion.

Plainly, those conclusory descriptions do not provide the “detailed information” (or any

information) necessary for Plaintiffs (or the Court) to assess Defendants’ privilege claims. For

example, they do not describe the subject-matter of the communications or research, do not

describe what type of research was performed, do not indicate how that research was used to

provide legal (as opposed to political, policy, business, or other) advice, do not indicate how the

research related to litigation, do not explain what litigation was anticipated or how or why it was

anticipated, and so forth. Rather, Defendants just “recit[e] [] the applicable legal standard” for

each document withheld. That is plainly insufficient, and it is especially insufficient because (as

detailed below) many of the communications documents for which Defendants provide that

conclusory description did not involve attorneys and/or were shared with third parties—and are

thus facially unprivileged given the nature of Defendants’ work.

Importantly, the main case on which Defendants have relied to argue that their privilege

log is sufficient, Feld v. Fireman’s Fund Insurance Co., 991 F. Supp. 2d 242 (D.D.C. 2013), in

fact confirms that Defendants’ third privilege log is not sufficient. Even a cursory comparison of

the “[r]epresentative examples” of the “detailed [privilege] descriptions” that the Feld court found

sufficient to Defendants’ third privilege log demonstrates the insufficiency of Defendants’ log.

See id. at 248. Those “representative examples” from Feld include:

Email between Fulbright attorneys attaching draft letter to C. Kirk, dated 10/27/09,
addressing FFIC questions re: potential conflicts of interest and splitting defense

48
See, e.g., Clare Decl. Ex. M (Defs.’ Third Privilege Log) at PRIV0000014-421, PRIV0000432-
474.

14
Case 1:17-cv-02041-RJL Document 147-1 Filed 05/21/21 Page 21 of 47

costs, and seeking attorney impressions and conclusions re: same. WP in


anticipation of potential litigation with FFIC.

Email from Fulbright attorneys to client attaching for review draft litigation budget
requested by FFIC, describing process used to create same and rates FFIC ‘willing
to pay.’ WP in anticipation of potential litigation with FFIC.

Email from Fulbright attorneys to client re: status of Underlying Action, including
discovery conference with Magistrate Judge Kay, settlement proposal, depositions,
and remaining fact discovery, attaching 1/22/11 letter to Judge Kay and 1/24/11
order re: discovery issues. WP re: Underlying Action.

Id. As the Feld court explained, those are “specific, individualized descriptions.” Id. Unlike

Defendants’ cursory privilege descriptions, the privilege descriptions in Feld enabled the parties

there to assess the privilege claims: they described the subject-matter of the communications and

documents withheld, they described how those documents related to the provision of legal advice

and litigation, they described what litigation was anticipated (and against whom), and so forth.

In short, the privilege descriptions in Feld did everything that Defendants’ privilege descriptions

do not.

Critically, Defendants know that they have not provided sufficient information to justify

their claims of privilege—they have deliberately chosen to disregard the Court’s Order and refused

to provide that information. Indeed, although Defendants’ counsel argues that simply providing

“Email Subject,” “File Name,” and “Date Created” information without in any way modifying

their privilege descriptions was sufficient to comply with the Court’s March 30 and to provide

sufficient information for Plaintiffs to assess Defendants’ privilege claims, Defendants’ counsel

stated the exact opposite (under penalty of perjury) in a sworn Declaration:

15
Case 1:17-cv-02041-RJL Document 147-1 Filed 05/21/21 Page 22 of 47

And Defendants’ counsel’s Declaration was absolute correct: the generic file name and

subject line information that Defendants provided—the only substantive addition to their third

privilege log—did not “assist Plaintiffs in assessing Defendants’ privilege invocations.” See In re

Apollo Grp., Inc. Sec. Litig., 251 F.R.D. 12, 31 (D.D.C. 2008) (“[T]he generic titles in the subject

line of an email often do not convey information concerning the specific matter being discussed.”),

aff’d, 329 F. App’x 283 (D.C. Cir. 2009).

Defendants (and their counsel) are playing games with Plaintiffs and the Court, plain and

simple. Defendants have deliberately chosen not to comply with the Court’s March 30 Order and

deliberately chosen not to provide a sufficient privilege log. As such, they have failed to meet

their “burden of demonstrating facts sufficient to establish [any] privilege’s applicability.” In re

CFTC Subpoena, 439 F.3d at 750. And because Defendants have failed to meet that burden despite

having had numerous opportunities to do so—and having been ordered by the Court to do so—the

proper remedy is an order compelling Defendants to produce the documents they are withholding.

Walker, 667 F. Supp. 2d at 138 (collecting cases); In re Chevron Corp., 2013 WL 11241413,

at *3.49

49
In the alternative, the Court should order Defendants to produce those documents to the Court
for in camera inspection to confirm that they are not privileged and then order their production.

16
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II. Substantial Evidence Confirms That the Documents Defendants Are Withholding as
Privileged Are Not Attorney-Client Privileged or Work Product.

Notably, not only have Defendants failed to meet their “burden of demonstrating facts

sufficient to establish [any] privilege’s applicability” to the documents they are withholding, In re

CFTC Subpoena, 439 F.3d at 750, but all available evidence affirmatively demonstrates that those

documents are not attorney-client privileged or work-product protected—for multiple reasons.

A. Substantial Evidence Makes Clear That the Attorney-Client Privilege Is


Inapplicable to the Documents Defendants’ Are Withholding as Privileged.

Although Defendants claim attorney-client privilege over all but five of the documents on

their third privilege log, all available evidence makes clear that those documents are not

privileged—for multiple reasons.

Defendants’ Work Relating to CIR 112 and the Dossier Was Political, Not Legal

Work. Defendants cite the fact that they performed work for Perkins Coie as the sole basis to

justify their privilege claims over the overwhelming majority of the documents they are

withholding. (See Appendix A for a list of all such documents.) But the work that Defendants

may have performed for Perkins Coie cannot, as a matter of law, justify Defendants’ privilege

claims.

It is axiomatic that all communications exchanged with attorneys are not privileged; rather

only “confidential communications” between attorneys and their clients “made for the purpose of

securing [or providing] legal advice or services” are privileged, Tax Analysts v. I.R.S., 117 F.3d

607, 618 (D.C. Cir. 1997), as are some such communications involving an attorney’s agent as long

as they are “made for ‘the purpose of obtaining legal advice from the lawyer,’” Linde Thomson

Langworthy Kohn & Van Dyke, P.C. v. Resol. Tr. Corp., 5 F.3d 1508, 1515 (D.C. Cir. 1993)

(quoting FTC v. TRW, Inc., 628 F.2d 207, 212 (D.C. Cir. 1980)). An attorney’s “advice on

political, strategic, or policy issues, valuable as it may be,” is “not [] shielded from disclosure by

17
Case 1:17-cv-02041-RJL Document 147-1 Filed 05/21/21 Page 24 of 47

the attorney-client privilege.” In re Lindsey, 148 F.3d 1100, 1106 (D.C. Cir. 1998); accord Jud.

Watch, Inc. v. U.S. Dep’t of Homeland Sec., 926 F. Supp. 2d 121, 144-45 (D.D.C. 2013); Citizens

for Resp. & Ethics in Wash. v. Gen. Servs. Admin., No. 18-cv-2071, 2021 WL 1177797, at *7

(D.D.C. Mar. 29, 2021) (same).

Here, Defendants’ own numerous admissions make clear that the work they performed for

Perkins Coie was not work aiding the provision of legal advice or legal services, but instead was

unprivileged political opposition research work. Among other things, Defendants have admitted

that:

• Defendants were never clients of Perkins Coie;50

• Defendants approached Perkins Coie (which represented the DNC and HFACC) because
they (Defendants) were performing “political” “opposition research” on Donald Trump and
they “believed that demand for information on Trump would soon shift to the
Democrats”;51

• Perkins Coie hired Defendants in a “political context” to perform “political work,”


specifically “deep research on Trump.” 52

• Defendants themselves (not Perkins Coie) “were the architects of the[ir] research and we
[Defendants] made most of the decisions about what to look for and where to look.”53

• The Dossier (including CIR 112) is (in Defendants’ own words) “perhaps the most famous
work of opposition research in American politics.”54

Consistent with these admissions, this Court has previously recognized that the work Defendants

performed for Perkins Coie during the 2016 Presidential election campaign was “opposition

research” that was “political in nature.” Bean LLC v. John Doe Bank, 291 F. Supp. 3d 34, 46

50
Clare Decl. Ex. B (Crime in Progress) at 79.
51
Id. at 54-57.
52
See, e.g., id. at 54-57, 59, 70; see also supra Relevant Background Part A.
53
Clare Decl. Ex. C at 22 (Interview of Glenn Simpson by the House Permanent Select Committee
on Intelligence).
54
Clare Decl. Ex. B (Crime in Progress) at 57, 269.

18
Case 1:17-cv-02041-RJL Document 147-1 Filed 05/21/21 Page 25 of 47

(D.D.C. 2018) (Leon, J.). In sum, because Defendants’ work for Perkins Coie was political, not

legal, it is not protected by the attorney-client privilege.

This conclusion is not changed by Defendants’ trial counsel’s self-serving declaration in

support of Defendants’ prior privilege log. Although Defendants’ counsel’s made-for-litigation

declaration attempts to overcome Defendants’ outside-of-litigation (and, thus, not-made-for-

litigation) admissions, it cannot. As an initial matter, much of the substance of Defendants’

counsel’s declaration—which attempts to state what “Perkins [Coie] anticipated,” what Perkins

Coie believed, and why Perkins Coie did certain things—is inadmissible hearsay (and clearly

beyond the actual knowledge of the declarant). See Fed. R. Evid. 801-802.55 Moreover, the

declaration makes nothing more than conclusory claims that are not, as a matter of law, competent

evidence. See, e.g., Smith v. Janey, 664 F. Supp. 2d 1, 12 (D.D.C. 2009) (“conclusory statements”

in affidavit are not “competent evidence”), aff’d sub nom. Smith v. Rhee, No. 09-7100, 2010 WL

1633177 (D.C. Cir. Apr. 6, 2010); Singh v. Dist. of Columbia, 55 F. Supp. 3d 55, 69 (D.D.C. 2014)

(rejecting “conclusory affirmations”). Furthermore, the declaration’s general assertions about

what “research firms such as Fusion” do or what “[l]awyers often require” do not even address the

specifics of Defendants’ work for Perkins Coie.56 And, of course, Defendants have admitted that

they themselves (not Perkins Coie) “were the architects of the[ir] research and we [Defendants]

55
See also, e.g., United States v. Kupau, 781 F.2d 740, 745 (9th Cir. 1986) (“Since [one person’s]
opinion of [another person’s] state of mind would have constituted speculation, the judge did not
plainly err in excluding it.”); Combs v. Cordish Cos., No. 14-cv-227, 2018 WL 1464033, at *12
(W.D. Mo. Mar. 23, 2018) (excluding affidavit purporting to attest to “[b]eliefs, perceptions, and
feelings about another person’s state of mind”).
56
J. Levy Decl. ¶ 5 (Ex. A to the Clare Decl.).

19
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made most of the decisions about what to look for and where to look” and went “where the story

led [them].”57

Nor can Defendants avoid the conclusion that their work for Perkins Coie is not privileged

by citing the Second Circuit’s 60-year-old decision in United States v. Kovel, 296 F.2d 918, 922

(2d Cir. 1961), on which Defendants have previously heavily relied. As the D.C. Circuit has

explained, Kovel simply recognized that when an attorney utilizes the services of a third party

(there, an accountant) to assist the attorney in his provision of legal advice and legal services by

putting “information obtained from the client” into “usable [documentary] form” for the attorney,

those documents fall within the scope of the attorney-client privilege. TRW, Inc., 628 F.2d at 212

(discussing Kovel and explaining that “[t]he [Kovel] court analogized the role of the accountant to

that of a translator who puts the client’s information into terms that the attorney can use

effectively” to provide legal advice). But “[b]eyond this limited role, the privilege would not

extend.” Id. (citing Kovel, 296 F.2d at 922). As the Kovel court (and the D.C. Circuit) emphasized,

“‘[w]hat is vital to the privilege is that the communication be made in confidence for the purpose

of obtaining legal advice from the lawyer. If what is sought is not legal advice but only accounting

service’”—or, here, political advice or work—“‘no privilege exists.’” Id. (quoting Kovel, 296 F.2d

at 922). As detailed above, Defendants have repeatedly admitted that they were hired by Perkins

Coie in a “political context” to perform “political work” (specifically “deep research on Trump”),

and in fact generated “perhaps the most famous work of opposition research in American

politics.”58

57
Clare Decl. Ex. C at 22 (Interview of Glenn Simpson by the House Permanent Select Committee
on Intelligence); Clare Decl. Ex. B (Crime in Progress) at 59.
58
Clare Decl. Ex. B (Crime in Progress) at 54-57, 59, 70, 269.

20
Case 1:17-cv-02041-RJL Document 147-1 Filed 05/21/21 Page 27 of 47

Documents and Communications Not Involving Any Attorneys. In addition, nearly

450 of the almost 500 documents Defendants are withholding as privileged do not involve (and

were not shared with) attorneys—and most of these communications are entirely internal to

Defendant Fusion. (See Appendix C for a list of all such documents.) Of course, the attorney-

client privilege only protects communications between attorney and client made to receive or

provide legal advice, Tax Analysts, 117 F.3d at 618—and Defendants have not provided any facts

to prove (or even remotely suggest) that these documents contained or conveyed attorney legal

advice. As such, these documents are facially unprivileged.59

Documents and Communications Exchanged with Third Parties. Defendants have also

withheld as privileged over 170 documents that they exchanged with third parties. (See

Appendix D for a list of all such documents.) Again, the attorney-client privilege only protects

“confidential communications” between attorneys and their clients (made to obtain or provide

legal advice), id.—and Defendants have not provided any facts to prove (or even remotely suggest)

that any applicable attorney-client privilege was not lost when these documents were shared with

third parties. As such these documents are also facially unprivileged.60

Documents Pre-Dating Defendants’ Hiring by Perkins Coie. Even if the fact that

Defendants performed their political work for Perkins Coie could support their privilege claims

(as described above, it cannot), Defendants are withholding numerous documents that they claim

were “prepared at the direction of Perkins Coie” that date prior to the date on which Defendants

were hired by Perkins Coie attorney Marc Elias perform work for Perkins Coie. (See Appendix E

59
As explained above, Defendants also have not demonstrated that they were working as an agent
of an attorney to assist in the provision of legal advice.
60
Again, Defendants also have not demonstrated that they were working as an agent of an attorney
to assist in the provision of legal advice.

21
Case 1:17-cv-02041-RJL Document 147-1 Filed 05/21/21 Page 28 of 47

for a list of all such documents.) Defendants have admitted that (1) they met with Mr. Elias to

discuss performing work for Perkins Coie on April 20, 2016, (2) “formalizing the engagement

with Perkins Coie ... would take weeks,” and (3) their April 20, 2016 “meeting with Marc Elias []

occurred before [Defendants] were hired” by Perkins Coie.61 But Defendants are withholding 12

documents dated April 19, 2016 as “prepared at the direction of Perkins Coie” (and more

documents from the following weeks). Plainly that is not possible and Defendants’ privilege claim

is untrue.62

The File Names on Defendants’ Privilege Log Strongly Suggest That Many

Documents Are Not Privileged. Finally, the limited information that Defendants have included

in their third privilege log strongly suggest that many of the documents they are withholding are

not privileged. Examples include:

• Defendants are withholding documents with file names that make clear that they are
ordinary—unprivileged—Fusion work, such as “FusionGPS Weekly Report [number]
[date],” “Weekly Writeup for FusionGPS [date],” “Chronology for FusionGPS updated
[date],” “Report for Fusion GPS,” and “FusionGPSWhosWho [date].”63

61
Clare Decl. Ex. B (Crime in Progress) at 54-57, 59, 284.
62
Defendants’ outside-of-litigation admissions in their “tell-all” book belie their assertion in
response to Plaintiffs’ previous motion to compel that Perkins Coie hired them on April 11, 2016.
To the extent an “April 11, 2016” engagement letter with Perkins Coie exists, it appears in light of
Defendants’ admissions to have been backdated. And, in any event, Defendants cannot rely on
such a withheld document. See, e.g., Koch v. Cox, 489 F.3d 384, 390 (D.C. Cir. 2007) (parties
may not “employ privileges both as a sword and as a shield”). Indeed, Defendants’ withholding
of that agreement itself highlights Defendants’ improper privilege claims because “[i]t is
established that ... retainer agreements usually are not privileged.” United States v. Naegele, 468
F. Supp. 2d 165, 171 (D.D.C. 2007).
63
See Clare Decl. Ex. M (Defs.’ Third Privilege Log) at PRIV0000021, PRIV0000022,
PRIV0000030, PRIV0000045, PRIV0000055, PRIV0000057, PRIV0000059, PRIV0000060,
PRIV0000063, PRIV0000064, PRIV0000079, PRIV0000081, PRIV0000083, PRIV0000085,
PRIV0000086, PRIV0000088, PRIV0000138. Transmittal emails for these documents are
identified as: PRIV0000020, PRIV0000054, PRIV0000056, PRIV0000058, PRIV0000062,
PRIV0000078, PRIV0000080, PRIV0000082, PRIV0000084, PRIV0000087, PRIV0000137.

22
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• Defendants are withholding numerous non-attorney invoices (and related


communications),64 but even attorney-invoices are routinely produced in litigation, with
any actually-privileged material in them redacted. See, e.g., Fudali v. Pivotal Corp.,
No. 03-cv-1460, 2010 WL 4910263, at *2 (D.D.C. Dec. 2, 2010); see also United States v.
Naegele, 468 F. Supp. 2d 165, 171 (D.D.C. 2007) (“It is established that billing
statements ... usually are not privileged.”). And Defendants know that, as confirmed by
the fact that they have produced some invoices to Plaintiffs even as they withhold others.
• Defendants are withholding documents with file names that make clear the political
(i.e., non-legal) nature of the work to which they relate, such as “Trump Russia Memo
[date],” “Trump Russia master,” and “Trump-ChristieNJ [date].”65

B. Substantial Evidence Makes Clear That the Work-Product Doctrine Is


Inapplicable to the Documents Defendants’ Are Withholding.

Defendants claim work-product protection over every document on their third privilege

log, but all available evidence makes clear that those documents are not protected work-product—

for multiple reasons.

Work Relating to CIR 112 and the Dossier Was Political Work, Not Work Prepared

in Anticipation of Litigation. Defendants similarly cite the fact that they performed work for

Perkins Coie as the sole basis to justify their work-product claims over the overwhelming majority

of the documents they are withholding. (See Appendix A for a list of all such documents.) But

as explained above, the work that Defendants performed relating to CIR 112 and the Dossier was

political opposition research, not work for providing legal advice. And for the same reason, it was

not work prepared in anticipation of litigation.

64
See id. at PRIV0000069, PRIV0000071, PRIV0000075, PRIV0000106, PRIV0000158,
PRIV0000160, PRIV0000164, PRIV0000297, PRIV0000299. Transmittal emails and
communications relating to these documents are identified as: PRIV0000067, PRIV0000070,
PRIV0000074, PRIV0000077, PRIV0000103, PRIV0000108, PRIV0000109, PRIV0000156,
PRIV0000159, PRIV0000163, PRIV0000295, PRIV0000298.
65
See id. at PRIV0000029, PRIV0000031, PRIV0000033, PRIV0000035, PRIV0000038,
PRIV0000040, PRIV0000042, PRIV0000044. Transmittal emails for documents are identified as:
PRIV0000028, PRIV0000032, PRIV0000037, PRIV0000039, PRIV0000041.

23
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It is axiomatic that the work-product doctrine only protects certain materials “prepared in

anticipation of litigation or for trial.” Fed. R. Civ. P. 26(b)(3); Elkins v. Dist. of Columbia, 250

F.R.D. 20, 26 (D.D.C. 2008) (citing EEOC v. Lutheran Social Servs., 186 F.3d 959, 968 (D.C. Cir.

1999)). To determine whether a document was “prepared in anticipation of litigation,” the

D.C. Circuit applies “the ‘because of’ test, asking ‘whether, in light of the nature of the document

and the factual situation in the particular case, the document can fairly be said to have been

prepared or obtained because of the prospect of litigation.’” United States v. Deloitte LLP, 610

F.3d 129, 137 (D.C. Cir. 2010) (quoting In re Sealed Case, 146 F.3d 881, 884 (D.C. Cir. 1998)).

If the same or essentially similar documents would have been created whether or not litigation was

foreseen, “it cannot fairly be said that they were created because of actual or impending litigation.”

Willingham v. Ashcroft, 228 F.R.D. 1, 4 (D.D.C. 2005) (brackets omitted).

Here, with the exception of five documents, Defendants (despite having had three chances)

have not identified any litigation for which the documents they are withholding were supposedly

prepared, and Defendants have certainly not explained how the documents they are withholding

were prepared in anticipation of that unidentified litigation.66 At most, Defendants’ counsel’s

made-for-litigation declaration in support of Defendants’ previous privilege log claimed that

Defendants’ research helped Perkins Coie evaluate “potential litigation risks relating to

information distributed in connection with the 2016 election cycle”67—but even if that assertion is

66
The limited exception is five documents that Defendants claim were prepared in anticipation of
litigation in United States v. Prevezon—but Defendants still fail to properly identify how or why
work product protection applies to those documents. Defendants offer only generic and boilerplate
privilege descriptions that parrot the legal elements of the work-product doctrine. (See Clare Decl.
Ex. M (Defs.’ Third Privilege Log) at PRIV000001, PRIV000002, PRIV000004, PRIV000012,
and PRIV000013).
67
Levy Decl. ¶ 6 (Ex. A to the Clare Decl.). As purported support, Defendants’ counsel generically
stated that “[f]or example” “attorneys” (without specification) “in this space often rely on research
findings from sub-vendors when performing legal review of public communications to confirm
(cont’d)

24
Case 1:17-cv-02041-RJL Document 147-1 Filed 05/21/21 Page 31 of 47

accepted at face value (despite all contrary evidence), that is nothing more than the “[g]eneralized

steps to avoid non-specific litigation [that] are not accorded work product protection.” Chen-Oster

v. Goldman, Sachs & Co., 293 F.R.D. 547, 553 (S.D.N.Y. 2013) (collecting cases, and further

explaining that “[w]hile legal risks may ripen into litigation, not all risk management qualifies as

anticipation of litigation”); In re Grand Jury Proceedings, No. 11-mc-189, 2001 WL 1167497, at

*15 (S.D.N.Y. Oct. 3, 2001) (“[A] generalized desire to avoid litigation is insufficient to meet the

‘in anticipation of litigation’ requirement.”); Prowess, Inc. v. Raysearch Labs. AB, No. 11-cv-

1357, 2013 WL 509021, at *7 (D. Md. Feb. 11, 2013) (similar; “it is not enough that the mere

possibility of litigation exists.” (alterations omitted)).

In addition, the limited information that Defendants included in their third privilege log

strongly suggests that many documents being withheld are not privileged. For example (and as

detailed above), Defendants are withholding documents with file names such as “Chronology for

FusionGPS updated [various dates],” “Weekly Writeup for Fusion GPS [date],” “FusionGPS

Weekly Report [number] [date],” “Trump Russia Memo [date],” “Trump Russia master [date],”

“Trump ChristieNJ [date],” and so forth68 that suggest they are typical Fusion work, not work

prepared in anticipation of litigation.

Defendants Have Admitted to Destroying Documents—Which Undermines Their

“Anticipation of Litigation” Claims. Defendants’ verified Interrogatory Responses further belie

their broad claims of work-product protection. In response to Plaintiffs’ Interrogatories,

Defendants stated that “[a]t the end of each engagement, Defendants return or destroy the work

product as directed by the[ir] client,” and have stated that documents related to CIR 112 were

that there is an adequate factual basis for any claims or allegations, so their client does not run the
risk of civil litigation.” Levy Decl. ¶ 5.
68
See supra notes 63 & 65.

25
Case 1:17-cv-02041-RJL Document 147-1 Filed 05/21/21 Page 32 of 47

either “returned to the[ir] client or destroyed.”69 But under black-letter law, a “duty to preserve

[evidence] arises when litigation is reasonably foreseeable,” and the destruction (or return) of

“relevant records” when “litigation was reasonably foreseeable” is grounds for the imposition of

sanctions for spoliation. E.g., Kurtiev v. Shell, No. 15-cv-1839, 2020 WL 2838523, at *15 (D.D.C.

June 1, 2020) (citing Gerlich v. Dep’t of Justice, 711 F.3d 161, 265 (D.C. Cir. 2012)). Plainly,

Defendants cannot have it both ways. If Defendants actually anticipated litigation, then they

admittedly spoliated evidence and Plaintiffs are entitled to substantial sanctions (including adverse

inferences) after discovery reveals the full extent of that spoliation. Or Defendants did not

anticipate litigation and their work-product claims are meritless.

Documents and Communications Not Involving Any Attorneys. In addition, nearly

450 of the almost 500 documents Defendants are withholding as work-product do not involve (and

were not shared with) attorneys—and most of these communications are entirely internal to

Defendant Fusion. (See Appendix C for a list of all such documents.) These documents are

facially not work-product, much less attorney-work product—and Defendants have not

demonstrated any facts to indicate otherwise.

Documents Pre-Dating Defendants’ Hiring by Perkins Coie. As with Defendants’

privilege claims, even if the fact that Defendants performed their political work for Perkins Coie

could support their work-product claims (it cannot), Defendants (as described above) cannot

properly or truthfully withhold documents created on April 19, 2016 as work product “prepared at

the direction of Perkins Coie” when Defendants had not yet been hired by Perkins Coie as of their

69
Clare Decl. ¶¶ 18-19, Ex. Q (Defs.’ Revised Resps. to Pls.’ IROGs, at Resp. No. 21 (May 18,
2020)), Ex. R (Defs.’ Revised Resps. to Pls.’ IROGs 9 & 23, at Resp. No. 23 (Aug. 7, 2020)).

26
Case 1:17-cv-02041-RJL Document 147-1 Filed 05/21/21 Page 33 of 47

April 20, 2016 meeting with Perkins Coie attorney Marc Elias (and “formalizing the engagement

with Perkins Coie” took “weeks”).70 (See Appendix E for a list of all such documents.)

III. Even If Defendants Satisfied Their Burden of Establishing That a Privilege Applied,
Defendants Waived That Privilege.

Finally, even if Defendants had met their burden of proving that the documents they are

withholding are privileged or protected work-product (they have not), the record evidence

demonstrates that Defendants have waived that privilege/protection.

“In the attorney-client context,” the D.C. Circuit “adheres to a strict rule on waiver of

privileges. ‘The confidentiality of communications covered by a privilege must be jealously

guarded by the holder of the privilege lest it be waived.’” S.E.C. v. Lavin, 111 F.3d 921, 929

(D.C. Cir. 1997) (quoting In re Sealed Case, 877 F.2d 976, 980 (D.C. Cir. 1989)). “If the

[privilege] holder wishes to preserve its privilege, ‘it must treat the confidentiality ... like jewels—

if not crown jewels’[;] [i]n other words, the holder must zealously protect the privileged materials,

taking all reasonable steps to prevent their disclosure.” Id. (quoting In re Sealed Case, 877 F.2d

at 980). If otherwise privileged materials are disclosed to a third party, “the privilege is lost[,]

even if the disclosure is inadvertent.” In re Sealed Case, 877 F.2d at 980. Work-product protection

is similarly waived where a disclosure of otherwise protected materials is “inconsistent with the

maintenance of secrecy from the disclosing party’s adversary.” United States v. All Assets Held

at Bank Julius Baer & Co., 315 F.R.D. 103, 109 (D.D.C. 2016). Notably, where a person waives

the attorney-client privilege or work-product protection by disclosing protected documents to third

parties, the waiver extends to “all other documents involving the same subject matter as well.”

Banneker Ventures, LLC v. Graham, 253 F. Supp. 3d 64, 73 (D.D.C. 2017) (privilege waiver);

Elkins, 250 F.R.D. at 24 (work-product waiver).

70
Clare Decl. at Ex. B (Crime in Progress) at 54-57, 59, 284.

27
Case 1:17-cv-02041-RJL Document 147-1 Filed 05/21/21 Page 34 of 47

Here, both before and after publication of CIR 112 (and the rest of the Steele Dossier),

Defendants engaged in a media blitz, repeatedly disclosing their research—and other information

related to CIR 112 and the Dossier—to numerous third parties, including to the media and

government officials.71 Indeed, Defendant Simpson repeatedly briefed journalists (including from

The New York Times, ABC, and The Washington Post) on Defendants’ research and the contents

of the Steele Dossier.72 Even more, Defendant Simpson has published the New York Times #1

best-selling tell-all book Crime in Progress: Inside the Steele Dossier and the Fusion GPS

Investigation of Donald Trump in which he described in great detail Defendants’ research and

communications regarding CIR 112 and the Dossier as a whole.73 Consistent with the book’s title,

Defendant Simpson has billed the book as “tell[ing] the true story [i.e., Defendants’ side of the

story] of [their] investigations into Trump and [their] work with Christopher Steele.”74

Quite simply, there may never have been a better case for waiver of the attorney-client

privilege and work-product protection than there is here. And Defendants cannot avoid that

conclusion by asserting (as they did in their opposition to Plaintiffs’ previous motion to compel)

that any privilege belonged to the DNC or HFACC and “Defendants could not have waived

71
See, e.g., Clare Decl. at Ex. B (Crime in Progress) at 109-10 (describing Defendants’ “one-hour
sessions” briefing numerous journalists, including “Jane Mayer of The New Yorker, Michael
Isikoff of Yahoo News, Matthew Mosk of ABC News, and Eric Lichtblau and David Sanger of
The Times,” as well as “Tom Hamburger and Dana Priest” of The Washington Post); id. at 113
(explaining that Defendant Bean/Fusion principal Peter Fritsch “went to [State Department official
Jonathan] Winer’s house with a copy of all the reports Steele had produced to date” and “allowed
Winer to read them and take notes, for the express purpose of making [Secretary of State] Kerry
aware of the substance of Steele’s reporting”); id. at 118 (“That weekend, [Mother Jones reporter
David] Corn and Simpson met ... Simpson described the contents of the dossier and then ... let him
review a copy.”); id. at 127-31 (describing Defendants’ disclosure of the Dossier to David
Kramer); id. at 139-41 (describing Defendants’ disclosure of the Dossier to New York Times
reporter Eric Lichtblau).
72
See, e.g., id.
73
See generally id.
74
Id. at Preface.

28
Case 1:17-cv-02041-RJL Document 147-1 Filed 05/21/21 Page 35 of 47

privileges that they themselves did not own.”75 To begin, as explained above, Defendants have

failed to demonstrate that they performed legal (not political) for Perkins Coie. But even if they

had, the law is clear that even when “disclosure [of privileged material] occurs” because a third

party (i.e., not the privilege-holder) discloses that material—even where, unlike here, the

disclosure results from “the inadvertence of a third party”—“waiver occurs unless the privilege-

holder promptly takes ‘reasonable steps to reclaim the protected material.’” The Navajo Nation v.

Peabody Holding Co., 255 F.R.D. 37, 45 (D.D.C. 2009) (quoting Bowles v. Nat’l Ass’n of Home

Builders, 224 F.R.D. 246, 253 (D.D.C. 2004)). Here, it has been years since Defendants published

their tell-all Crime in Progress book, disclosed purportedly-privileged materials, and waived any

privilege relating to their work on CIR 112 and the Dossier—and the DNC and HFACC (and

Perkins Coie) have taken no steps whatsoever “to reclaim the protected material.” See id.76 Thus,

even if Defendants’ argument is fully accepted, Defendants still waived any privilege/protection.

In sum, Defendants have repeatedly publicly disclosed information about the very subject-

matter that they now claim is privileged. As such, even if the documents that Defendants are

withholding were privileged (they were not), Defendants have waived that privilege and must

produce those documents to Plaintiffs. See, e.g., Banneker Ventures, 253 F. Supp. 3d at 73; Elkins,

250 F.R.D. at 24.

CONCLUSION

For the foregoing reasons, Plaintiffs respectfully request that the Court order Defendants

to produce their withheld documents or, in the alternative, order Defendants to produce those

75
See Defs.’ Opp’n to Pls.’ [Previous] Mot. to Compel re Defs.’ Privilege Log at 20 (Sept. 11,
2020) [Dkt. 104].
76
Indeed, the DNC and HFACC plainly wanted (for their political purposes) Defendants to
disclose the Dossier and related research.

29
Case 1:17-cv-02041-RJL Document 147-1 Filed 05/21/21 Page 36 of 47

documents to the Court for in camera inspection to confirm that they are not privileged and then

order their production.

Dated: May 21, 2021 Respectfully submitted,

/s/ Thomas A. Clare, P.C.


Thomas A. Clare, P.C. (DC Bar No. 461964)
Elizabeth M. Locke, P.C. (DC Bar No. 976552)
Joseph R. Oliveri (DC Bar No. 994029)
Andrew C. Phillips (DC Bar No. 998353)
CLARE LOCKE LLP
10 Prince Street
Alexandria, VA 22314
Tel: (202) 628-7400
tom@clarelocke.com
libby@clarelocke.com
joe@clarelocke.com
andy@clarelocke.com

Counsel for Plaintiffs Mikhail Fridman,


Petr Aven, and German Khan

30
Case 1:17-cv-02041-RJL Document 147-1 Filed 05/21/21 Page 37 of 47

APPENDIX A
Defendants’ Withheld Documents with the Following Hypergeneric Description:

“Confidential research [or “communication regarding research”] prepared at the


direction of Perkins Coie [or “counsel”] and in anticipation of litigation, and for the
purpose of providing legal advice”

PRIV000006 PRIV000049 PRIV000092 PRIV000131


PRIV000007 PRIV000054 PRIV000093 PRIV000132
PRIV000008 PRIV000055 PRIV000094 PRIV000133
PRIV000009 PRIV000056 PRIV000095 PRIV000134
PRIV000010 PRIV000057 PRIV000096 PRIV000135
PRIV000011 PRIV000058 PRIV000097 PRIV000136
PRIV000014 PRIV000059 PRIV000098 PRIV000137
PRIV000015 PRIV000060 PRIV000099 PRIV000138
PRIV000016 PRIV000061 PRIV000100 PRIV000139
PRIV000018 PRIV000062 PRIV000101 PRIV000140
PRIV000019 PRIV000063 PRIV000102 PRIV000141
PRIV000020 PRIV000064 PRIV000103 PRIV000142
PRIV000021 PRIV000065 PRIV000104 PRIV000143
PRIV000022 PRIV000066 PRIV000106 PRIV000144
PRIV000023 PRIV000067 PRIV000108 PRIV000145
PRIV000024 PRIV000068 PRIV000109 PRIV000146
PRIV000025 PRIV000069 PRIV000110 PRIV000147
PRIV000026 PRIV000070 PRIV000111 PRIV000148
PRIV000027 PRIV000071 PRIV000112 PRIV000149
PRIV000028 PRIV000074 PRIV000113 PRIV000150
PRIV000029 PRIV000075 PRIV000114 PRIV000151
PRIV000030 PRIV000076 PRIV000115 PRIV000152
PRIV000031 PRIV000077 PRIV000116 PRIV000153
PRIV000032 PRIV000078 PRIV000117 PRIV000154
PRIV000033 PRIV000079 PRIV000118 PRIV000155
PRIV000035 PRIV000080 PRIV000119 PRIV000156
PRIV000037 PRIV000081 PRIV000120 PRIV000157
PRIV000038 PRIV000082 PRIV000121 PRIV000158
PRIV000039 PRIV000083 PRIV000122 PRIV000159
PRIV000040 PRIV000084 PRIV000123 PRIV000160
PRIV000041 PRIV000085 PRIV000124 PRIV000161
PRIV000042 PRIV000086 PRIV000125 PRIV000162
PRIV000044 PRIV000087 PRIV000126 PRIV000163
PRIV000045 PRIV000088 PRIV000127 PRIV000164
PRIV000046 PRIV000089 PRIV000128 PRIV000165
PRIV000047 PRIV000090 PRIV000129 PRIV000166
PRIV000048 PRIV000091 PRIV000130 PRIV000167

Appendix A-1
Case 1:17-cv-02041-RJL Document 147-1 Filed 05/21/21 Page 38 of 47

PRIV000168 PRIV000211 PRIV000254 PRIV000299


PRIV000169 PRIV000212 PRIV000255 PRIV000300
PRIV000170 PRIV000213 PRIV000256 PRIV000301
PRIV000171 PRIV000214 PRIV000257 PRIV000302
PRIV000172 PRIV000215 PRIV000258 PRIV000303
PRIV000173 PRIV000216 PRIV000259 PRIV000304
PRIV000174 PRIV000217 PRIV000260 PRIV000305
PRIV000175 PRIV000218 PRIV000261 PRIV000306
PRIV000176 PRIV000219 PRIV000262 PRIV000307
PRIV000177 PRIV000220 PRIV000263 PRIV000308
PRIV000178 PRIV000221 PRIV000264 PRIV000309
PRIV000179 PRIV000222 PRIV000265 PRIV000310
PRIV000180 PRIV000223 PRIV000266 PRIV000311
PRIV000181 PRIV000224 PRIV000267 PRIV000312
PRIV000182 PRIV000225 PRIV000268 PRIV000313
PRIV000183 PRIV000226 PRIV000269 PRIV000314
PRIV000184 PRIV000227 PRIV000270 PRIV000315
PRIV000185 PRIV000228 PRIV000271 PRIV000316
PRIV000186 PRIV000229 PRIV000273 PRIV000317
PRIV000187 PRIV000230 PRIV000274 PRIV000318
PRIV000188 PRIV000231 PRIV000275 PRIV000319
PRIV000189 PRIV000232 PRIV000276 PRIV000320
PRIV000190 PRIV000233 PRIV000277 PRIV000321
PRIV000191 PRIV000234 PRIV000278 PRIV000322
PRIV000192 PRIV000235 PRIV000279 PRIV000323
PRIV000193 PRIV000236 PRIV000280 PRIV000324
PRIV000194 PRIV000237 PRIV000281 PRIV000325
PRIV000195 PRIV000238 PRIV000283 PRIV000326
PRIV000196 PRIV000239 PRIV000284 PRIV000327
PRIV000197 PRIV000240 PRIV000285 PRIV000328
PRIV000198 PRIV000241 PRIV000286 PRIV000329
PRIV000199 PRIV000242 PRIV000287 PRIV000330
PRIV000200 PRIV000243 PRIV000288 PRIV000331
PRIV000201 PRIV000244 PRIV000289 PRIV000332
PRIV000202 PRIV000245 PRIV000290 PRIV000333
PRIV000203 PRIV000246 PRIV000291 PRIV000334
PRIV000204 PRIV000247 PRIV000292 PRIV000335
PRIV000205 PRIV000248 PRIV000293 PRIV000336
PRIV000206 PRIV000249 PRIV000294 PRIV000337
PRIV000207 PRIV000250 PRIV000295 PRIV000338
PRIV000208 PRIV000251 PRIV000296 PRIV000339
PRIV000209 PRIV000252 PRIV000297 PRIV000340
PRIV000210 PRIV000253 PRIV000298 PRIV000341

Appendix A-2
Case 1:17-cv-02041-RJL Document 147-1 Filed 05/21/21 Page 39 of 47

PRIV000342 PRIV000362 PRIV000382 PRIV000403


PRIV000343 PRIV000363 PRIV000383 PRIV000404
PRIV000344 PRIV000364 PRIV000384 PRIV000405
PRIV000345 PRIV000365 PRIV000385 PRIV000406
PRIV000346 PRIV000366 PRIV000386 PRIV000407
PRIV000347 PRIV000367 PRIV000387 PRIV000408
PRIV000348 PRIV000368 PRIV000388 PRIV000409
PRIV000349 PRIV000369 PRIV000390 PRIV000410
PRIV000350 PRIV000370 PRIV000391 PRIV000411
PRIV000351 PRIV000371 PRIV000392 PRIV000412
PRIV000352 PRIV000372 PRIV000393 PRIV000413
PRIV000353 PRIV000373 PRIV000394 PRIV000414
PRIV000354 PRIV000374 PRIV000395 PRIV000415
PRIV000355 PRIV000375 PRIV000396 PRIV000416
PRIV000356 PRIV000376 PRIV000397 PRIV000417
PRIV000357 PRIV000377 PRIV000398 PRIV000418
PRIV000358 PRIV000378 PRIV000399 PRIV000419
PRIV000359 PRIV000379 PRIV000400 PRIV000420
PRIV000360 PRIV000380 PRIV000401 PRIV000421
PRIV000361 PRIV000381 PRIV000402 PRIV000497

Appendix A-3
Case 1:17-cv-02041-RJL Document 147-1 Filed 05/21/21 Page 40 of 47

APPENDIX B
Defendants’ Withheld Documents with the Following Hypergeneric Description:

“Confidential communication [or “communication with counsel”] in anticipation


of litigation and for the purpose of obtaining legal advice.”

PRIV000430 PRIV000448 PRIV000464 PRIV000479


PRIV000431 PRIV000449 PRIV000465 PRIV000480
PRIV000432 PRIV000451 PRIV000466 PRIV000481
PRIV000433 PRIV000453 PRIV000467 PRIV000483
PRIV000434 PRIV000454 PRIV000468 PRIV000484
PRIV000435 PRIV000455 PRIV000469 PRIV000486
PRIV000436 PRIV000456 PRIV000470 PRIV000487
PRIV000437 PRIV000457 PRIV000471 PRIV000492
PRIV000438 PRIV000458 PRIV000472 PRIV000493
PRIV000439 PRIV000459 PRIV000474 PRIV000494
PRIV000441 PRIV000460 PRIV000475 PRIV000496
PRIV000443 PRIV000461 PRIV000476
PRIV000444 PRIV000462 PRIV000477
PRIV000446 PRIV000463 PRIV000478

Appendix B-1
Case 1:17-cv-02041-RJL Document 147-1 Filed 05/21/21 Page 41 of 47

APPENDIX C
Defendants’ Withheld Documents/Communications That Do Not Include Any Attorneys

PRIV000001 PRIV000044 PRIV000089 PRIV000130


PRIV000002 PRIV000045 PRIV000090 PRIV000131
PRIV000003† PRIV000046 PRIV000091 PRIV000132
PRIV000004 PRIV000047 PRIV000092 PRIV000133
PRIV000005† PRIV000048 PRIV000093 PRIV000134
PRIV000006 PRIV000049 PRIV000094 PRIV000135
PRIV000007 PRIV000054 PRIV000095 PRIV000136
PRIV000008 PRIV000055 PRIV000096 PRIV000137†
PRIV000009 PRIV000056 PRIV000097 PRIV000138
PRIV000010 PRIV000057 PRIV000098 PRIV000139
PRIV000011 PRIV000058 PRIV000099 PRIV000140
PRIV000014 PRIV000059 PRIV000100 PRIV000141
PRIV000015 PRIV000060 PRIV000101 PRIV000142
PRIV000016 PRIV000061 PRIV000102 PRIV000143
PRIV000017† PRIV000062 PRIV000103 PRIV000144
PRIV000018 PRIV000063 PRIV000104 PRIV000145
PRIV000019 PRIV000064 PRIV000105† PRIV000146
PRIV000020 PRIV000065 PRIV000106 PRIV000147
PRIV000021 PRIV000066 PRIV000107† PRIV000148
PRIV000022 PRIV000067 PRIV000108 PRIV000149
PRIV000023 PRIV000068 PRIV000109 PRIV000150
PRIV000024 PRIV000069 PRIV000110 PRIV000151
PRIV000025 PRIV000070 PRIV000111 PRIV000152
PRIV000026 PRIV000071 PRIV000112 PRIV000153
PRIV000027 PRIV000072 PRIV000113 PRIV000154
PRIV000028 PRIV000073 PRIV000114 PRIV000155
PRIV000029 PRIV000074 PRIV000115 PRIV000156
PRIV000030 PRIV000075 PRIV000116 PRIV000157
PRIV000031 PRIV000076 PRIV000117 PRIV000158
PRIV000032 PRIV000077 PRIV000118 PRIV000159
PRIV000033 PRIV000078 PRIV000119 PRIV000160
PRIV000034† PRIV000079 PRIV000120 PRIV000161
PRIV000035 PRIV000080 PRIV000121 PRIV000162
PRIV000036† PRIV000081 PRIV000122 PRIV000163
PRIV000037 PRIV000082 PRIV000123 PRIV000164
PRIV000038 PRIV000083 PRIV000124 PRIV000165
PRIV000039 PRIV000084 PRIV000125 PRIV000166
PRIV000040 PRIV000085 PRIV000126 PRIV000167
PRIV000041 PRIV000086 PRIV000127 PRIV000168
PRIV000042 PRIV000087 PRIV000128 PRIV000169
PRIV000043† PRIV000088 PRIV000129 PRIV000170

Appendix C-1
Case 1:17-cv-02041-RJL Document 147-1 Filed 05/21/21 Page 42 of 47

PRIV000171 PRIV000214 PRIV000257 PRIV000300


PRIV000172 PRIV000215 PRIV000258 PRIV000301
PRIV000173 PRIV000216 PRIV000259 PRIV000302
PRIV000174 PRIV000217 PRIV000260 PRIV000303
PRIV000175 PRIV000218 PRIV000261 PRIV000304
PRIV000176 PRIV000219 PRIV000262 PRIV000305
PRIV000177 PRIV000220 PRIV000263 PRIV000306
PRIV000178 PRIV000221 PRIV000264 PRIV000307
PRIV000179 PRIV000222 PRIV000265 PRIV000308
PRIV000180 PRIV000223 PRIV000266 PRIV000309
PRIV000181 PRIV000224 PRIV000267 PRIV000310
PRIV000182 PRIV000225 PRIV000268 PRIV000311
PRIV000183 PRIV000226 PRIV000269 PRIV000312
PRIV000184 PRIV000227 PRIV000270 PRIV000313
PRIV000185 PRIV000228 PRIV000271 PRIV000314
PRIV000186 PRIV000229 PRIV000272† PRIV000315
PRIV000187 PRIV000230 PRIV000273 PRIV000316
PRIV000188 PRIV000231 PRIV000274 PRIV000317
PRIV000189 PRIV000232 PRIV000275 PRIV000318
PRIV000190 PRIV000233 PRIV000276 PRIV000319
PRIV000191 PRIV000234 PRIV000277 PRIV000320
PRIV000192 PRIV000235 PRIV000278 PRIV000321
PRIV000193 PRIV000236 PRIV000279 PRIV000322
PRIV000194 PRIV000237 PRIV000280 PRIV000323
PRIV000195 PRIV000238 PRIV000281 PRIV000324
PRIV000196 PRIV000239 PRIV000282† PRIV000325
PRIV000197 PRIV000240 PRIV000283 PRIV000326
PRIV000198 PRIV000241 PRIV000284 PRIV000327
PRIV000199 PRIV000242 PRIV000285 PRIV000328
PRIV000200 PRIV000243 PRIV000286 PRIV000329
PRIV000201 PRIV000244 PRIV000287 PRIV000330
PRIV000202 PRIV000245 PRIV000288 PRIV000331
PRIV000203 PRIV000246 PRIV000289 PRIV000332
PRIV000204 PRIV000247 PRIV000290 PRIV000333
PRIV000205 PRIV000248 PRIV000291 PRIV000334
PRIV000206 PRIV000249 PRIV000292 PRIV000335
PRIV000207 PRIV000250 PRIV000293 PRIV000336
PRIV000208 PRIV000251 PRIV000294 PRIV000337
PRIV000209 PRIV000252 PRIV000295 PRIV000338
PRIV000210 PRIV000253 PRIV000296 PRIV000339
PRIV000211 PRIV000254 PRIV000297 PRIV000340
PRIV000212 PRIV000255 PRIV000298 PRIV000341
PRIV000213 PRIV000256 PRIV000299 PRIV000342

Appendix C-2
Case 1:17-cv-02041-RJL Document 147-1 Filed 05/21/21 Page 43 of 47

PRIV000343 PRIV000370 PRIV000397 PRIV000432


PRIV000344 PRIV000371 PRIV000398 PRIV000433
PRIV000345 PRIV000372 PRIV000399 PRIV000434
PRIV000346 PRIV000373 PRIV000400 PRIV000471
PRIV000347 PRIV000374 PRIV000401 PRIV000472
PRIV000348 PRIV000375 PRIV000402† PRIV000473†
PRIV000349 PRIV000376 PRIV000403† PRIV000474
PRIV000350 PRIV000377 PRIV000404† PRIV000475
PRIV000351 PRIV000378 PRIV000405† PRIV000476
PRIV000352 PRIV000379 PRIV000406 PRIV000477
PRIV000353 PRIV000380 PRIV000407 PRIV000478
PRIV000354 PRIV000381 PRIV000408 PRIV000479
PRIV000355 PRIV000382 PRIV000409 PRIV000480
PRIV000356 PRIV000383 PRIV000410 PRIV000481
PRIV000357 PRIV000384 PRIV000411 PRIV000482†
PRIV000358 PRIV000385 PRIV000412 PRIV000483
PRIV000359 PRIV000386 PRIV000413 PRIV000484
PRIV000360 PRIV000387 PRIV000414 PRIV000485†
PRIV000361 PRIV000388 PRIV000415 PRIV000486
PRIV000362 PRIV000389† PRIV000416 PRIV000487
PRIV000363 PRIV000390 PRIV000417 PRIV000488
PRIV000364 PRIV000391 PRIV000418 PRIV000489
PRIV000365 PRIV000392 PRIV000419 PRIV000490
PRIV000366 PRIV000393 PRIV000420 PRIV000491
PRIV000367 PRIV000394 PRIV000421 PRIV000495
PRIV000368 PRIV000395 PRIV000430 PRIV000496
PRIV000369 PRIV000396 PRIV000431 PRIV000497

† = The privilege identifiers marked with “†” are identified as “error attachment file” on
Defendants’ privilege log.

Appendix C-3
Case 1:17-cv-02041-RJL Document 147-1 Filed 05/21/21 Page 44 of 47

APPENDIX D
Defendants’ Communications and Documents Exchanged with Third Parties

PRIV0000010 PRIV0000162 PRIV0000227 PRIV0000300


PRIV0000011 PRIV0000166 PRIV0000230 PRIV0000301
PRIV0000014 PRIV0000167 PRIV0000231 PRIV0000340
PRIV0000067 PRIV0000168 PRIV0000232 PRIV0000341
PRIV0000068 PRIV0000169 PRIV0000233 PRIV0000342
PRIV0000069 PRIV0000170 PRIV0000234 PRIV0000343
PRIV0000070 PRIV0000172 PRIV0000235 PRIV0000344
PRIV0000071 PRIV0000173 PRIV0000236 PRIV0000345
PRIV0000098 PRIV0000174 PRIV0000237 PRIV0000346
PRIV0000099 PRIV0000175 PRIV0000238 PRIV0000347
PRIV0000110 PRIV0000179 PRIV0000239 PRIV0000348
PRIV0000111 PRIV0000180 PRIV0000240 PRIV0000350
PRIV0000117 PRIV0000181 PRIV0000241 PRIV0000351
PRIV0000122 PRIV0000182 PRIV0000242 PRIV0000354
PRIV0000125 PRIV0000183 PRIV0000243 PRIV0000357
PRIV0000126 PRIV0000185 PRIV0000244 PRIV0000361
PRIV0000127 PRIV0000186 PRIV0000245 PRIV0000362
PRIV0000128 PRIV0000187 PRIV0000246 PRIV0000363
PRIV0000129 PRIV0000190 PRIV0000247 PRIV0000364
PRIV0000130 PRIV0000191 PRIV0000248 PRIV0000365
PRIV0000132 PRIV0000192 PRIV0000249 PRIV0000394
PRIV0000133 PRIV0000193 PRIV0000250 PRIV0000406
PRIV0000134 PRIV0000194 PRIV0000251 PRIV0000407
PRIV0000135 PRIV0000195 PRIV0000252 PRIV0000408
PRIV0000136 PRIV0000199 PRIV0000274 PRIV0000409
PRIV0000139 PRIV0000200 PRIV0000275 PRIV0000410
PRIV0000140 PRIV0000201 PRIV0000276 PRIV0000412
PRIV0000141 PRIV0000203 PRIV0000277 PRIV0000414
PRIV0000142 PRIV0000204 PRIV0000278 PRIV0000426
PRIV0000143 PRIV0000206 PRIV0000279 PRIV0000433*
PRIV0000144 PRIV0000207 PRIV0000280 PRIV0000434*
PRIV0000145 PRIV0000208 PRIV0000281 PRIV0000435*
PRIV0000146 PRIV0000209 PRIV0000282† PRIV0000436*
PRIV0000147 PRIV0000213 PRIV0000285 PRIV0000437*
PRIV0000148 PRIV0000215 PRIV0000286 PRIV0000453
PRIV0000149 PRIV0000216 PRIV0000287 PRIV0000456
PRIV0000154 PRIV0000222 PRIV0000295 PRIV0000457
PRIV0000156 PRIV0000223 PRIV0000296 PRIV0000458
PRIV0000157 PRIV0000224 PRIV0000297 PRIV0000465
PRIV0000158 PRIV0000225 PRIV0000298 PRIV0000466
PRIV0000161 PRIV0000226 PRIV0000299 PRIV0000478

Appendix D-1
Case 1:17-cv-02041-RJL Document 147-1 Filed 05/21/21 Page 45 of 47

PRIV0000479 PRIV0000487 PRIV0000489 PRIV0000491


PRIV0000486 PRIV0000488 PRIV0000490

† = The privilege identifier marked with “†” is identified as “error attachment file” on Defendants’
privilege log.

* = The 5 privilege identifiers marker with “*” are communications that included Defendants’
counsel but also included a third party for whom Defendants have not indicated (much less
established) any facts to demonstrate that the third party’s presence on the communication vitiated
any claim of privilege or work-product protection.

Appendix D-2
Case 1:17-cv-02041-RJL Document 147-1 Filed 05/21/21 Page 46 of 47

APPENDIX E
Documents Claimed Privileged by Defendants Based on Engagement by Perkins Coie
That Pre-Date That Engagement

PRIV0000006 PRIV0000009 PRIV0000014 PRIV0000017†


PRIV0000007 PRIV0000010 PRIV0000015 PRIV0000018
PRIV0000008 PRIV0000011 PRIV0000016 PRIV0000019

† = The privilege identifier marked with “†” is identified as “error attachment file” on Defendants’
privilege log.

Appendix E-1
Case 1:17-cv-02041-RJL Document 147-1 Filed 05/21/21 Page 47 of 47

CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE

I hereby certify that the foregoing Memorandum of Points and Authorities in Support of

Plaintiffs’ Second Motion to Compel Defendants to Produce Documents Improperly Withheld as

Privileged was filed electronically with the Clerk of Court on May 21, 2021, using the CM/ECF

system, which will send notification of such filing to all counsel of record.

/s/ Thomas A. Clare, P.C.


Thomas A. Clare, P.C.

31

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